FOR AND AGAINST THE DEMOLITION

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January 31, 1993

ISSUE DATE: January 31, 1993

UPDATED: January 31, 1993 00:00 IST

I was ridiculously complacent about India's secular credentials ("A Nation's Shame", December 31,1992). But December 6 has shaken that faith now. Today there is only one fear that haunts me-that of being forced (by a strident minority) to live in a 'Hindu Rashtra' and of being misgoverned by a party whose sole claim to power is the shameless abuse of religious sentiments.

Nagpur RUKMINI MITRA

The foundation of the nation's shame was laid on August 15, 1947 when the leaders failed to ban communal parties. The demolition of the Babri Masjid is a god-send. Now we can ban all communal parties and also introduce a civil code applicable to all communities. New Delhi o.p. CHOPRA

If the demolition of the disputed structure is the 'nation's shame', then what is the 'nation's pride'? Opposing Vande Mata-ram? Or challenging the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case? The demolition is not a shame but a result of the outrage felt by the majority community of the country. Bombay p.s. kolambekak

The unfortunate event in Ayodhya stripped the mask off the two major Indian political parties and stigmatised the spirit of secularism and Hindu tolerance. The ugly faux pas could have been averted if our leaders had not fallen prey to Machiavellian strategies. The (Tongress(I)'s sluggishness and the bjp's belligerence have made the nation witness a flagrant insult. Ludhiana sheetal thapar

While strongly condemning the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya and the Hindu temples in Kashmir as the worst form of religious extremism, one cannot escape the conclusion that secularism can survive in India only if Pakistan and Bangladesh become secular states too. Des Plaines, US raj sahgal

I fail to understand the perverse argument that a sign-post of foreign aggression can be considered as a symbol of secularism and the removal of this national slur is a matter of shame.

New Delhi s.hreerang a. godbole

In its desire to come to power, the bjp exploited the religious sentiments of Hindus and brought the nation to an abyss where its very foundations have been challenged. New Delhi rohit ra)

The course the demagogues of the bjp have adopted reminds me of a quote: "If I wished to put a curse on a nation, I would invoke the gods to decree that it be governed by those who consider themselves the only true patriots in it." Chandigarh N. chopra

The hasty decision of the Rao Government to dismiss all bjp governments and ban all "communal" organisations is injudicious and myopic. The more discontent is stifled, the more violent it turns. Further, labelling an organisation as communal is itself arbitrary and lacks objectivity. Allahabad sanjaya mishr a

May I apologise to the millions of Muslims for the actions of my co-religionists? After years of being proud of Hindu liberalism, for the first time I am ashamed that the rabble of Ayodhya also call themselves Hindus.

Jolimont, Australia k.r. ray

For the past few years the bjp had seemed to be emerging as some sort of a disciplined alternative to the Congress(I).

The response to our special issue on Ayodhya-"A Nation's Shame" (December 31)-has been overwhelming. While a majority of the letters passionately denounced the demolition of the Babri Masjid as an act which negated the essence of Hinduism, a third of the readers who wrote to us were more annoyed by the 'pseudo-secularism' exhibited by the media and the intelligentsia than by the demolition.

The disputed site should be declared out of bounds and a board put up declaring, "This is where we buried tolerance and brotherhood."

New Delhi c. bezboruah

On December 6 the party lost its credibility to govern a country. Bombay rajendra k. aneja

Every sane Indian is ashamed of what happened at Ayodhya. But that is only part of the story. Because in the final analysis every Indian is also responsible for what happened. All of us must share the blame and the shame.

Kanpur chhotebhai

President, AH India Catholic Union

The shocking events at Ayodhya have brought into the limelight one important question facing Indians today-what do we mean by secularism? Does it mean that only members of the majority community should be tolerant?

New Delhi preeti sharma

I sincerely feel that Narasimha Rao has every reason to feel let down and cheated. His only crime was that he trusted the solemn assurances of a democratically elected state government. Despite all the damage caused by his 'inaction', one feels that he did the right thing in refusing to overstep the Constitution despite provocation and highlighted his desire to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Dombivili gopal iyer

In his nationwide address, instead of fumbling words and repetitiveness, had Rao declared a three-day national mourning, with the tricolour flying at half-mast, it would have taken the heat out of Muslim fury and the international repercussions thereafter. Jalandhar surinder sharma

What has happened today is also because of the extreme obstinacy of the Muslim leaders. If they had shown some maturity in time, they might have earned the goodwill of the majority and created permanent bonds of brotherhood. Indore prabhakar s. harsole

Rao has weakened his position by arbitrarily imposing President's rule on three Bjp-ruled states. People of these states have been deprived of their constitutionally elected governments, when there was no breakdown of law and order in these states that could even remotely warrant such a Central action. New Delhi preetha nair

When a student doesn't study, he fails. When an officer doesn't perform, he is expelled. But nothing happens when a minister as incompetent as S.B. Chavan fails to shoulder his responsibility towards the nation. Lucknow s. jamal a

The bjp-vhp combine has been condemned for violating the court's orders. Everyone seems to have forgotten that the Congress(I) did the same in the Shah Bano case when Muslim religious leaders openly questioned the right of the Indian courts to interpret and decide on Muslim personal law. And V.P. Singh went to the extent of saying that if the Supreme Court judgement went against the Mandal recommendations, then the verdict would not be acceptable to him.

New Delhi s.a. krishnan

Indians should be stimulated by this crisis in a positive way, by discarding the present breed of opportunists and moving on to a lean and clean government; by doing away with the current Nehruvian socialist economic system and moving towards a free market economic system. This is a time of great upheaval and every Indian citizen would do well to consider himself or herself as India's Margaret Thatcher in this revolution. Reading, UK a. jajoo

You have joined the bandwagon of Hindu-bashers. Why blame only the Hindu community for the demolition of the Babri Masjid? What did our executive, our legislature or even our judiciary do to settle the long-pending issue?

New Delhi Lt-Col daljit singh

The opinions of the finance minister and the three departmental secretaries on the likely impact of the Ayodhya-related events on the Indian economic scene are too optimistic and manifestly lack insight. For a country that has just embarked upon a massive structural adjustment programme and has earned the dubious distinction of being the largest borrower from the imf, political stability and social cohesion are essential. If we fight over religious issues, no foreign government or corporation will be interested in investing in our country.

Lucknow mohd. muzammil

When all that the people of this country want is roti, kapda aur makan, why are the politicians and the so-called religious leaders so intent upon giving us a diet of mandir, masjid aur janmasthan?

New Delhi vinod kumar b.

In a nation where 'divide and rule' has been perfected into a deadly art by self-seeking political pygmies masquerading as the nation's leaders, Ayodhya was bound to happen sooner or later.

Trivandrum v. mohan das

TRAUMA AND TERROR

It was a heart-breaking story ("Sexual Terrorism", December 31). The trauma caused by such mental and physical terrorism devastates the whole life of the woman concerned. The Sikh militants are defaming the holy Granth Sahib by indulging in such heinous crimes. The Punjab Government should act fast and rehabilitate the young widows as well as their children. Darjeeling ANIL K. YADAV

JUST NOT CRICKET

There has been a lot of talk lately among sports journalists, especially those covering cricket, about the positive attitude or rather the lack of it in the Indian cricket team ("Much Ado About Nothing", December 31). And this is supposedly the single most important factor contributing to India's decline as a cricket power internationally. But I wonder if this 'mental toughness' is required by the journalists as well? They have all written off the Indian team and cannot find a single virtue in it. This sometimes leads to the writer taking great liberties and the situation is completely reversed when India does win. New Delhi deepak mittal

DEBILITATING MIX

The dilution of pure regiments ("Changing the Mix", December 15) or ethnically compact and homogeneous units through induction of trained personnel from other batallions or regiments will also dilute their esprit de corps, functional flamboyance and, above all, their battle efficiency. The decision is without doubt a political one.

Cuttack ABHIRAM NANDA

CHARACTER COUNTS

In your article on the US elections ("A Telegenic Tussle'', November 3 0,1992) you mentioned that the candidates' character and trustworthiness are major issues in the US while no one in India is concerned about a candidate's marital history or love affairs. If a candidate's character is of no importance then the electorate's reasons for electing representatives is much diminished. Your population elects on the basis of campaign promises. Is it any wonder that so many of your MPs and MLAs turn out to be charlatans? Your magazine has itself, over the years, revealed an endless line of political and economic scandals. New Jersey, US michael |. davis

Amanullah Khan lives in a fool's paradise if he thinks that all Kashmiri Pandits support the so-called freedom movement in Kashmir. Every Kashmiri Pandit is first an Indian.

Vadodara vijav raina

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